YOUNGSTERS Hayley Instance and Sinead Clark were the stars of the show at a soggy Hylands Park in the second round of the Essex Cross-Country League.

Both girls dug deep in the closing stages to sprint clear of rivals to win their respective races and also earn their spots in the Essex team for the Southern Intercounties Championships in Oxford next month.

The top eight Essex finishers in all of the races barring the senior and under-20 men’s categories will go on to wear the red of Essex in Oxford and there were many from the south of the county who booked their places.

But it was the young duo of Instance and Clark who shone individually.

Thurock Harrier Instance, who attends Corringham’s Gable Hall School, held firm in the closing stages of the under-13 girls race to take her maiden Essex League win.

And she helped her Harriers team to second overall (and first Essex team behind Cambridge & Coleridge) with Hayley Dowsett-Ward (10th), Demi Briggs (14th) and Kierra Scott (15th) making up the team.

Benfleet Running Club talent Clark took the honours in the under-15 girls race, holding of Chelmsford AC’s Rachel Broome in another tight finish.

Southend AC’s Joanna Rimmington ran very strongly for fourth place while Thurrock Harriers’ Amber Pullinger was ninth.

Rimmington led her Southend team to second place in the team standings as Meghan Samuels (14th), Juliette Le Mare (17th) and Mia Slesser (29th) all packed well.

Benfleet, spearheaded by race winner Clark, finished as the third team with Grace Goodall (22nd), Genevieve Pate (23rd) and Yasmin Robinson (28th) backing up their leader.

In the under-17/20 women’s race, Ellie Baker of Chelmsford paced her race to perfection to win with the Chelmsford team of Georgia Tuckfield (fifth), Katie Solis (seventh) and Jodie Judd (10th) running out comfortable team winners.

Basildon AC’s Emily Bullis ran strongly for ninth place, helping the New Towners to third team with Jemima Walker (18th), Meg Rapley (26th), Kiera Tippett (28th) and Gemma Archer-Haley (30th) rounding out the scorers.

Thurrock Harriers’ Gemma Holloway should have been running in the under-17/20 women’s race if birth certificates are anything to by, but the 17-year-old once again stepped up to the senior women’s race and produced another superb run.

Holloway finished second behind Havering’s Great Britain cross-country international Lauren Deadman.

Billericay Striders’ Emma Prideaux finished in the top 10 in 10th place.

On the boys side, Basildon AC’s Oliver Lill had a brilliant run to claim second in the under-13 boys race, just edging out Thurrock Harriers’ Harry Parker who was third.

Lill’s Basildon team finished second with Daniel Houchell (13th), Luke Savage (18th) and James Wright (31st) making up the team.

Thurrock Harriers, led by Parker, were third with Ben Prior (16th), Finley Lowe (17th) and Henry Willett (37th) completing the quartet.

Southend AC’s Toby Wright led a strong Southend presence in the under-15 boys race.

Wright finished sixth overall and helped the Seasiders to second in the team standings with Sam Norris (12th), Matthew Norris (18th) and Tom Stuttle (19th).

Rushwan Lewis, of Benfleet RC, got his Essex vest by finishing eighth.

Adam Jordan was another Southend runner to have a good day, finishing third in the under-17 men’s race, one spot ahead of Basildon’s first finisher Christian Gray in fourth.

The Basildon team packed well behind Gray with Max Jones (eighth) and Brandon Thorpe (ninth) both in the top 10 and Joe Kidd 26th.

Thurrock Harriers were the third team with Jody Meredith (10th), Sam Smith (13th), Gary Cahill (23rd) and Luke Strudwick (39th).

The senior men’s race, won by Colchester Harriers’ Adrian Mussett, saw a great performance from under-20 Callum Charleston (Chelmsford AC) who was third overall. Basildon’s Grant Webb was seventh with team-mate Stephen Strange a little further back in 15th.